MLB News

Phillies ride Asche's two HRs past Marlins

By
Steve Wilaj and Todd ZoleckiMLB.com

MIAMI -- Aaron Harang shut down the Marlins for his second strong outing at Marlins Park in exactly one month and Cody Asche belted two homers, as the Phillies defeated Miami, 6-2, in Tuesday's series opener. The veteran righty was helped by some early offense, as Philadelphia struck early to help notch its eighth win in nine games against the Marlins.

The Phillies jumped ahead, 3-0, on a second-inning Freddy Galvis two-run single. Asche then hit solo homers in the fourth and eighth inning (his 10th and 11th of the season), while Darin Ruf launched a seventh-inning solo shot. That would be enough for Harang, who allowed only two runs in seven innings. The 37-year-old last pitched in Miami on Aug. 22 when he also surrendered just two runs in seven innings that day.

MIAMI -- Aaron Harang shut down the Marlins for his second strong outing at Marlins Park in exactly one month and Cody Asche belted two homers, as the Phillies defeated Miami, 6-2, in Tuesday's series opener. The veteran righty was helped by some early offense, as Philadelphia struck early to help notch its eighth win in nine games against the Marlins.

The Phillies jumped ahead, 3-0, on a second-inning Freddy Galvis two-run single. Asche then hit solo homers in the fourth and eighth inning (his 10th and 11th of the season), while Darin Ruf launched a seventh-inning solo shot. That would be enough for Harang, who allowed only two runs in seven innings. The 37-year-old last pitched in Miami on Aug. 22 when he also surrendered just two runs in seven innings that day.

"Cody Asche had a pretty good day," said Phillies manager Pete Mackanin, who signed a contract extension through next season before the game. "Today was his day. I told him to go and buy me some lottery tickets."

Miami starter Tom Koehler (10-14, 3.94 ERA) went just five innings, allowing four runs (three earned) on seven hits. Miguel Rojas hit his first homer of the season -- a two-run blast in the seventh inning -- but that was it for the Marlins, who have lost four straight.

"It was a struggle from pitch one," Koehler said. "It's unfortunate. I didn't really give the guys a chance tonight to get something going offensively."

MOMENTS THAT MATTEREDHarang gets some help: It has been a rough few months for Harang, who earned his first win since July 30 and his second since May 14. He allowed seven hits and two runs in seven innings, benefiting from double plays in the second, third and fourth innings.

Marlins leave 'em loaded: Miami looked to be in business in the third inning when Dee Gordon walked, Donovan Solano singled and Christian Yelich walked to load the bases with one out. But Justin Bour then hit a grounder not even a foot in front of the plate, allowing Phillies catcher Erik Kratz to step on home and throw to first to complete the 2-3 double play as Philly escaped the inning still with a 3-0 lead.

Asche heats up: Asche homered in the fourth and eighth innings for the first multi-homer game of his career. He is hitting .304 (7-for-23) with four homers and seven RBIs in his last eight games. He hopes to carry his current hot streak through the end of the season, after an up-and-down year.

"Every day I'm trying to make progress and not just tread water while I'm here," Asche said. "I've been through some ups and downs and I know what it feels like to have this opportunity taken away, so just stick it through and not take any of these opportunities for granted."

Speed and power:Aaron Altherr and Odubel Herrera employed a double steal in the first inning, which led to the Phillies' first run when Marlins catcher J.T. Realmuto threw a ball into left field trying to get Altherr at third. Asche homered in the fourth inning and eighth innings for the first multi-homer game of his career. Ruf also homered in the seventh.

Rojas stays hot: Rojas has been filling in as Miami's shortstop for the injured Adeiny Hechavarria -- and doing a fine job, at that. He launched his first home run of the season in the seventh inning to extend his hitting streak to a career-high seven games, and is batting .283 (15-for-53) since Hechavarria was sidelined on Sept. 2. More >

QUOTABLE"I'm really excited for him. [The Phillies] have seen the positives and heard the positive feedback from players, just how well he communicates with everybody and tries to keep everybody loose. That's a big thing." -- Harang, on Mackanin getting the managerial job through next season

"Any time we seemed to have something going, we hit into a double play. I know the one time there with the bases loaded and [Bour] up, he hit the little dribbler out on front of the plate. The double plays, we fell victim to tonight. Four of them. Any momentum that we tried to get going, it seemed like we double-played ourselves out of it." -- Marlins manager Dan Jennings, on his team's offensive struggles

WHAT'S NEXTPhillies: Phillies right-hander David Buchanan (2-9, 8.49 ERA) has had a tough season, but he is hoping to finish it on a high note when he starts on Wednesday at 7:10 p.m. ET. He allowed two runs in six innings last week in Washington, and another strong effort Wednesday night against the Marlins would boost his confidence entering the offseason.

Marlins:Adam Conley (4-1, 4.22 ERA) gets the ball coming off his best outing of the season. The rookie lefty tossed a seven shutout innings against the Mets on Wednesday.